1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to managing objects and, in particular, to managing configurations for objects. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for managing a configuration of an object during different phases in the lifecycle of the object.
2. Background
Oftentimes, objects, such as aircraft, trains, ships, and other platforms, have complex configurations. These complex configurations may have thousands or hundreds of thousands of components. Ensuring that an object has been manufactured with the correct configuration as specified in a design for the object is desirable as part of managing the object during a lifecycle of the object. The lifecycle of an object may include phases, such as, for example, without limitation, the design of the object, the creation of a plan for manufacturing the object, the manufacturing of the object, inspection of the object, maintenance for the object, and/or other suitable types of phases.
Typically, different bills of materials are created for an object during the different phases in the lifecycle of the object. A bill of materials (BOM) is a list of the raw materials, sub-assemblies, intermediate assemblies, sub-components, parts, and/or other components needed for object. A bill of materials also may include the quantities of the components and other suitable information used for the object.
A bill of materials may be used to define an object at any phase of the lifecycle of the object. For example, an engineering bill of materials (EBOM) defines an object at the design phase. The engineering bill of materials identifies the components needed for manufacturing the object as specified in a design for the object. The design may take the form of, for example, a computer-aided design (CAD) model.
As another example, a manufacturing bill of materials (MBOM) defines an object during a manufacturing phase and/or after manufacturing of the object has been completed. In particular, the manufacturing bill of materials identifies the components of the object as the object is being and/or has been built.
Typically, an object is considered to have a correct configuration when the manufacturing bill of materials can be reconciled with the engineering bill of materials. Reconciling these two different bills of materials includes making sure that both bills of materials are consistent with each other and define substantially the same configuration for the object.
With currently available systems for managing objects, ensuring that the different bills of materials for a particular object are reconciled may be more time-consuming and difficult than desired. For example, the different bills of materials for a particular object may be created at different times and/or using different systems. These bills of materials may be compatible with different software, have different formats, contain different data types and/or data content, identify different versions of components, and/or have other differences. As a result, detecting discrepancies between the different bills of materials may take more time, effort, and/or resources than desired.
For example, an engineering bill of materials for an aircraft may be created using a computer-aided design model of the aircraft. The manufacturing bill of materials may be created by operators at some later point in time using the engineering bill of materials and/or the model of the aircraft. The engineering and manufacturing bills of materials may not have the same format and/or may identify the components that form the configuration for the object in the same manner. Detecting discrepancies between engineering and manufacturing bills of materials may take more time, effort, and/or resources than desired.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus that takes into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as other possible issues.